Sweet Indian Lemon Pickles
Submitted by jrdale
Sweet Indian lemon pickles (nimbu ka achar) with whole lemons cured in salt, cumin, and black pepper, then candied with sugar, raisins, and dried chiles. A traditional condiment that builds flavor over weeks.
YIELD
16 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
10 minREADY
7 daysSweet Indian lemon pickles, known as nimbu ka achar in much of North India, are a slow-build condiment worth the wait. Whole lemons get quartered down to a hinged base, packed with salt, toasted cumin, and black pepper, then left to ferment under cheesecloth for a week. By day seven the salt and acid have softened the rinds and pulled out their bitterness. Sugar, raisins, and dried chiles go in for the finishing simmer, transforming the pickle into something sweet, salty, sour, and hot all at once.
Use thin-skinned lemons like Meyer or thin-skinned varieties of regular lemons. Thick-skinned lemons stay tough even after the long cure, while thin-skinned ones break down into something tender enough to eat in slices.
Toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet for 90 seconds until they smell nutty, then grind. Pre-ground cumin from the jar tastes flat in a pickle that needs to hold up for months.
Use only enamel or stainless steel for the sugar simmer. Aluminum and copper react with the acid and turn the pickles metallic and grey. After the simmer, the pickles need another week in a sealed sterilized jar to develop full flavor.
Pro Tips
- Sterilize the jar by boiling it for ten minutes or running it through a dishwasher hot cycle. Bacteria in a dirty jar will turn the pickle off.
- Use Indian or Mexican dried chiles for character. Generic dried red peppers work but lack the smokier, fruitier notes.
- Stored sealed in a cool dark place, these keep for six months and improve over the first three.
Variations
- Add a tablespoon of fenugreek seeds or asafoetida with the cumin for deeper traditional Indian notes.
- Stir in a teaspoon of turmeric for color and earthy flavor.
- Use brown sugar or jaggery instead of white sugar for a more caramelized, molasses-leaning sweetness.
Ingredients
Directions
Wash the lemons in cold water and dry thoroughly.
Quarter 6 of the lemons from the top almost all the way through to the bottom, leaving about ½ inch so they’ll hold together.
Squeeze the juice from the other lemons.
Mix the salt, cumin and black pepper in a small dish, and mix thoroughly with the lemons.
Stuff the lemons into a quart jar and pour in the lemon juice.
Cover with cheesecloth to prevent dirt from getting in the jar, and let sit in the open for about 1 week.
On the 7th day, pour the juices from the jar into an enamel or stainless steel pan, add the sugar and cook over low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
Add the lemons and cook, stirring gently, for 8 minutes or so.
Stir in the raisins and peppers.
Put the lemons in a sterilized jar and seal with the lid.
Let sit for a week or so before eating.
Use like you would any pickle, as an accompaniment.
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